Given Clint Eastwood’s insane net worth and the years he’s put into his career, he could retire… but despite being in his 90s, he has no plans to.
Clint Eastwood’s $375 million net worth is thanks to his long acting career that began in the 1950s, and while he’s known for many Westerns and action movies, fans are curious about why he doesn’t want to retire. In fact, the actor shared back in 2008 that he would no longer be acting. But since then, he starred in Trouble with the Curve in 2012, The Mule in 2018, and Cry Macho in 2021.
One of the best things about being a successful star is the ability and freedom to pick and choose projects. Actors can see what really speaks to them and allows them to feel like they’re feeding their creativity as well as taking risks. But since Clint Eastwood has eight children and a high net worth that makes him more than comfortable, fans wonder why he continues to act.
How Old Is Clint Eastwood And Why Won’t He Retire From Acting?
Given Clint Eastwood’s massive fortune, he could walk away from acting at any point and never worry about money. In fact, he could have done so decades ago. The fact that the 92-year-old actor continues to appear in movies is something that has gotten a lot of attention over the past few years.
When he was 91 years old, Eastwood shared why he keeps acting in a 2021 interview with The Los Angeles Times: he still gets hired for projects and people seem to like his movies.
He said, “What the hell am I still working for in my 90s? Are people going to start throwing tomatoes at you? I’ve gotten to the point where I wondered if that was enough, but not to the point where I decided it was. If you roll out a few turkeys, they’ll tell you soon enough.”
Clint Eastwood has directed great movies and people could ask why he keeps doing that as well, as it would be easy for him to sit back, relax, and enjoy some leisure time. His comments paint a picture of someone who truly loves the craft of acting and filmmaking.
Eastwood said in the same interview that he has directed many movies because “I just like it.” He explained that it seemed like a good idea because he could do this during the latter half of his career: he said, “the whole point of directing was something you can do as an older guy.”
The actor also noted to The Los Angeles Times that as of that interview, he hadn’t signed onto any more movies. He said, “I don’t have anything percolating at the moment. I didn’t have anything percolating before this one. If something comes along where the story itself, the telling of it, is fun, I’m open to it.”
What Else Has Clint Eastwood Said About Retiring From Acting?
In the past few years, Clint Eastwood has been asked many times about what it would take for him to step away from his acting career, and he always seems open to sharing his thoughts. It seems like something that he has meditated a lot on, especially since in 2008, after his performance in Gran Torino, he said that fans would no longer see him in movies.
From Clint Eastwood’s comments about retiring, it was clear that he thought that this was the right time to step away. According to The Telegraph, he said, “That will probably do it for me as far as acting is concerned. You always want to quit while you are ahead. You don’t want to be like a fighter who stays too long in the ring until you’re not performing at your best.” But since the actor has appeared in many more movies since making these comments, it seems that he missed being in front of a camera.
In 2018, the actor was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter when he was 88 years old and said that he kept making movies because he was still having fun. He said, “You never know when you’re going to give up. But I’m enjoying it.”
That same year, Eastwood starred in the movie The Mule as drug mule Earl Stone, which was his first role after taking a four-year hiatus. It’s interesting that he has taken some time away from his craft and then decided to jump back in.
His last part was Frankie Dunn in 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, and before that, he starred as Terry McCaleb in the 2002 thriller Blood Work and Frank Corvin in the fast-paced 2000 film Space Cowboys.
The actor told the ITV series This Morning that he appreciates being able to do something that he loves and also receive compensation for it. He said, “I like doing it, it’s nice to be able to have a paying job. I like being in films, I like making films and I started directing films because I thought one day I’m going to look up on screen and say, ‘That’s enough, Eastwood – you’d better do something else.'”
Why Does Clint Eastwood Love Movies?
While of course many people get the acting bug and want to continue on this career path because they love watching movies and learning how filmmaking magic can be created, Clint Eastwood seems to have a particular fondness for the act of going to a movie theater and getting lost in a good story.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2003, the actor shared that he was a staple at his local movie theater from 11 years old on. He explained that at this time, people listened to the radio a lot since TV didn’t exist yet, and when movies began playing, that was a popular activity for the entire family. It sounds like he has many great memories of this part of his childhood and high school years.
Eastwood said, “So going to the movies was a very big pleasure – all families went to movies together and sometimes adults would get a subject matter they didn’t want the kids to see. But by and large, people went a lot and it was a very nice family outing.”
As of March 2023, the actor hasn’t starred in any film since 2021’s Cry Macho. He doesn’t have any upcoming movie roles, but it sounds like given his love for the medium, he will definitely say yes to a project if he wants to.